Indian news round-up

It might just be another cricket bat but the one donated by the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) is really a collector's item. The bat carrying the signatures of all those who played the India-Australia series in 1999-2000 has raised $2375 for the earthquake victims in Gujarat.

Lloyd Lazaro, World Vision's corporate partners executive, said "we were hoping to raise about $2000 for the quake victims from the auction, so we are pleased to have exceeded this amount." while ACB's General Manager of Public Affairs Brendan McClements said "The ACB is pleased to have made the contribution to the appeal and we are sure that World Vision will put the money to good use."

ACB has already assisted the organisation to raise Rs 43 lakhs for earthquake ravaged Gujarat through a phone poll during the recently concluded Carlton & United series with the second final between Australia and West Indies being played as a India Quake benefit match.

Former Australian skipper Kim Hughes said in Mumbai on Wednesday that the on going India-Australia Series would be closely fought and even predicted that the visitors might go home happy with a 1-0 win in the series.

Speaking to Press Trust of India, Hughes said "The Australians are mentally tough and very dominant and that is where they will score. You can see that they are winning Test matches in three days and are not even waiting for the fifth day in the last 15 Tests they have played." Hughes added "Though Aussies would be aiming to win the series 3-0, they would be very content winning it 1-0."

Speaking of India's chances, Hughes said "Without leg spinner Anil Kumble, the Indian side looks a bit weak. Who will bowl out the Australians twice is a big question and no other name comes to my mind." He said "Except for a couple of Indian batsmen, I don't see others facing up to the battery of Aussie fast bowlers."

Australian spectators wanting to watch the second cricket Test match between India and Australia to be played at the Eden Gardens will have to pay much more than their Indian counterparts. The Cricket Association of Bengal has decided to sell tickets to the Australians at $50 (approximately Rs 2,350) for the five days of the match. Moreover there will be no daily sale of tickets. The Australians will have to buy the tickets for all the five days.

Giving this information, the joint secretary of the CAB Debdas Bannerjee said that around 100 Australian spectators were expected for the match. "The CAB office has already been called by various Australian travel agencies. They wanted to book the tickets for the match. However, we have informed them that we will reserve 100 seats for the visitors and sell them on a first come basis." Bannerjee however, informed that tickets could not be booked through the internet as the CAB does not have a web site. The visitors will have their seats just opposite the pavilion and above the sight screen at what is popularly called the High Court end.

Meanwhile, the demand for tickets is steadily rising. The CAB sells around 20,000 tickets through a lottery. The rest is then sold to various clubs, officials and government organizations. The clubs buy the tickets from the CAB and then sell them at premium rates if the demand for viewing the match increases. However, this time the CAB expects a full house on the first three days of the match.

Press Trust of India reported on Wednesday that cricketers, actors and other celebrities are to play a cricket match on February 25 in Mumbai to raise funds for a non-governmental organisation "Save The Children of India" in aid of earthquake survivors of Gujarat.

PTI said that the match is to be played on a specially designed format in which two semifinals of ten overs each are to be played followed by a final. Film star and ambassador of "Save the Chindren India", Sunil Shetty said "We hope to collect more than rs one crore from the event."

Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Javagal Srinath and Ajit Agarkar are to play along with Greg Matthews, Gavin Robertson, Roshan Mahanama, Kim Hughes and Neil Maxwell. Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist and Michael Slater may also join the competition.

Central defeated Western by three wickets to win the Inter-Railway tournament in Kolkata on Wednesday. Set to get 153 in 45 overs on the third and final day, Central Railway romped home in 28.5 overs while losing seven wickets in the process. Dinesh Panwar (43) and Raja Ali (45) were the chief scorers for Central.

Earlier, batting first Central scored 232 on the first day. In response, Western fell short by 11 runs, scoring 221. Central's Mannu Kumar (4 for 67) and Devendra Singh (3 for 72) were the chief wicket takers. Asked to bat again Western scored 163 in 39.1 overs.